Ghana face Mali in push for U-20 final place

Ghana’s charge for a place in the finals of the 2013 African Youth Championship faces a tough Malian hurdle on Tuesday.

The Black Satellites, who last won the Championship in 2009 must edge past their fellow West Africans to have a sight at the title again.

After qualifying from a tough group following an opening defeat, the Ghana U20s have shown signs of a reaching their potential just when it matters most in the competition.

Sellas Tetteh who was the last coach to have led Ghana to the title four years ago in Rwanda is drawing similarities from the past ahead of the semi-final meeting with Mali.

“This is just like the previous edition when we lost the first match against Cameroon but we still qualified, it shows we have character as a team,” Sellas said after qualifying his side for the last four.

“We look forward to the semi-final now where we will play Mali and that should be an interesting encounter.”

Though an interesting clash is anticipated in Oran, the Malians, who finished top in Group B are determined to make history by winning their first ever African title.

Moussa Keita, coach of the side says he expects a good game with a place in the final at stake.

“They are a good side and that passes the ball very well and likes to play offensively and do so in numbers. We respect Ghana and they are renowned as a football powerhouse on the continent but l repeat we want to win this tournament and if Ghana is in our way, Ghana will fall too.”

The winner will play in the final against the winner of the other semi-final match between Egypt and Nigeria.